Age is just a number
by gravityneverfalls
Summary: Dipper and Wendy's friendship is turning into something more, while Stan roots from the sidelines.
1. Chapter 1

"Dipper Pines!" Gideon yelled. "You have been in my way for far to long!"  
Dipper, Mabel and Wendy had been slammed against the wall of the Mystery Shack by Gideon's "powers." "Quick, Wendy, get the book out of my backpack," Dipper said. It had been thrown across the room, and Wendy was closest to it. She crawled over, unnoticed by Gideon, and grabbed his pack. "Here," she said, unzipping it. She reached in expecting to grab the book, but pulled out a wad of what looked like letters instead. Dipper knew exactly what they were. His cheeks flushed bright red as Wendy quickly examined the letters and gave him a shocked look. "Wait a minute!" Mabel exclaimed. She yanked one if the letters from Wendy's grasp and started reading. "Dear Wendy, I've always wanted to tel you that I-" "Mabel!" Dipper said, embarrassed and enraged. "We don't have time for this!" He grabbed his backpack and pulled out the book, leaving the letters scattered across the floor.  
*later that day*  
Wendy had been shocked, to say the least. Dipper? And her? She'd never even come close to considering the possibility. She was pacing back and forth on her spot in the roof, zoning out, when she heard Mabel's voice. "Hey Wendy!" She sat down and let her legs dangle off the edge. "Hey Mabel," she said flatly. She sat down next to her. "I was walking in the woods earlier and I saw these vampires and they were like..." Wendy started to zone out again. The letters, Dipper, her... "Wendy?" Mabel said, snapping her out of her daze. "What's up with you?" She sighed. "I'm just thinking about Dippers letters." Mabel laughed. "You mean all of his declarations of his love for you that apparently aren't good enough for you to read?" Wendy's gaze shifted to Mabel. "You mean you knew about them before?"  
She nodded. "Yeah. I overheard him reading them to the goat. He took a bite out of one of them." Wendy thought for a second. "So, did he tell you anything?" "Only that he loves you. Mwahp mwahp!" She poked her side. "Nothing else?" No I'm-" Mabel gasped. "Wait a second! You... And Dipper!" "No, Mabel-" "You like him you like him! You totally like him." She ran across the roof and back down the ladder. "Dipper! Wendy likes you!" She screamed. Wendy looked down at the parking lot, a smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Wendy wouldn't admit it. She couldn't. Ever since she'd found Dipper's love letters to her, it had been awkward, both because Dipper was always around, and because she was developing some feelings of her own. "I'm telling you Dipper, it was a real vampire." Mabel said, interrupting her thoughts. "I still don't believe it," Dipper said. They were waking through the woods, following Mabel to where the vampire supposedly was. Suddenly they were ambushed by gnomes. "Change your mind, Mabel!" Jeff yelled. Shmebulock pulled at Mabel's ankle. "No!" She screamed. "I will never be your queen!" She kicked the gnome off. "Fine!" Jeff said, furious. "Take the other girl instead!" He pointed at Wendy. "Dipper what's...?" The gnomes started climbing on one another until they formed a giant gnome monster. It picked Wendy up, and she screamed. The monster started moving towards the Mystery Shack. "Wendy!" Dipper called. Mabel ran after it. "To the shack!" "You would think," Dipper said to himself, " that they would remember that the leaf blower is over there." He ran to the shack, where the gnomes were disassembling themselves from the monster. Dipper didn't see Wendy anywhere. She must be in the shack, he thought. He grabbed the leaf blower and ran inside, instantly noticing Mabel , Wendy, and Sues plastered against the back wall. "Hey!" Dipper called, running in between them and the gnomes. "It's the weapon!" Jeff screamed. "Run!" Dipper turned the leaf blower on and blew them out the door. Grunkle Stan appeared in the doorway. "Were those gnomes? Or just little people?" Mabel got up and walked over to Stan. "They were gnomes. They wanted me to be their queen before and we scared them off with the leaf blower but me and Dipper and Wendy were walking in the woods because I saw this really hot vampire guy but Jeff saw us and I said I didn't want to be his queen so he took Wendy instead and they turned themselves into this really big gnome monster thing and Wendy and Sues and me were cornered but then Dipper came in with the leaf blower and saved us." There was a stunned silence. "So," Grunkle Stan finally said, "They weren't little people?" Mabel sighed. Wendy turned to Dipper. "So you've battled these things before?" Dipper nodded. "They wanted Mabel to be there queen." She put her hand on his shoulder. "You saved us." She leaned in and kissed Dipper's cheek. He froze in astonishment, happiness, and just pure shock. "Aw dude," Sues said. He leaned against a shelf filled with novelties, bumping some sort of ray in the process. A blueish glow surrounded Dipper and Wendy. "Hey Mr. Pines, the memory eraser ray actually works! What do ya know!"  
Dipper looked confused. "Wendy, what... What just happened?"  
Stan sat there in a slump, his mouth slightly ajar. "Aw Sues... I mean really... After all this time... I've waited... Dipper... And Wendy... Aw come on!"


	3. Chapter 3

"It's a perfect plan," Stan muttered. Dipper had been walking down the stairs, and he stopped. What was he talking about? Dipper tiptoed back up the stairs. "Mabel!" He shook her awake. "Mermando," she mumbled. Dipper rolled his eyes. "Mabel!" She sat up. "What do you want brother?" "Grunkle Stan just said something about having the perfect plan. Do you know what that means?" "It means you're a dork!" Mabel laughed.  
*later that day*  
"Hey Dipper," Wendy said from behind the counter. Stan was facing the other way, and he looked over his shoulder with a rather blank expression, as if he was waiting for something to happen. "Hey Wendy," Dipper replied. Stan sighed. Mabel opened the door, loudly banging it against the wall in the process. "Good morning world!" She exclaimed. Dipper glanced at her pink sweater that read "Cray Cray" in white block letters. Yup, he thought, that's about accurate. Sues came in shortly after, and him and Mabel started talking about the possibility that there were vampires in the woods. When would she get over that? Grunkle Stan was talking to Wendy over the counter. Since when did he actually talk to his employees? He shrugged. "Dipper!" Mabel called from across the room. "Do you think there are any vampires in the woods?" He rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as vampires, Mabel." "But if there was, they would be in the woods, right?" "I guess-" "Yes!" Mabel screamed. She ran out the door and towards the woods. "Hey, slow down dude!" Sues called. Dipper sighed and looked around the shack at all the fake things. Wait a minute, he thought, where did Grunkle Stan and Wendy go? He walked through the doorway and into the living area, then turned down the hallway. "Dipper!" He jumped. Stan was right behind him. He put his hands on Dipper's shoulders and started steering him further down the hall. "Where are we going?" Dipper asked. "Nowhere," Stan answered a bit to quickly. What was going on? Was this part of his plan he had mentioned? Dipper asked himself. He was suddenly pushed through a door, and he heard Grunkle Stan lock it from the other side.  
"Hey!" Dipper called. "Get me out!" "Dipper?" It was Wendy's voice. He recognized it right away. "Is that you?" It was pitch black. Dipper ran his hands along the wall, finding a light switch and flipping it. Wendy was sitting in the far corner, her knees to her chest. "Where are we?" She asked. Dipper pondered that for a second. "I think," he said, "We're in the room Grunkle Stan kept the wax figures in." "Wax figures?" Dipper walked closer to Wendy. "Yeah. Long story." "But why would Stan lock us in here?" "I don't know." Dipper sat down next to her. They were silent for a moment. "Hey Dipper?" Wendy said finally. "Did you see the way Stan was looking back and forth at us this morning?" Dipper nodded slowly. "It seemed like he was waiting for something to... Wait a minute!" He exclaimed. "Maybe he wants us to be together and that's why he locked us in here? I overheard him this morning saying something about having the perfect plan. I think this was his plan." Wendy looked at him for a second. Dipper felt his cheeks flush, and she smiled. "You really think he wants us to be together?" She scooted a little bit closer to Dipper on the floor. "Maybe," he answered quietly. Wendy continued scooting until their legs were only millimeters apart. "Maybe," Wendy repeated. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Dipper suddenly grew very still. When she pulled away she grabbed his hand and they sat in silence; a good silence. Dipper smiled from ear to ear. He had been waiting for this moment since the beginning of the summer, and it had finally happened. "So, Dipper," Wendy started, "Do you-" "Dude!" The heard Sues say from the other side of the door. "Wasn't this the door that the wax dudes came out of?" The door slowly creaked open to reveal Mabel and Sues standing on the other side. "Oh my gosh!" Mabel exclaimed. "You guys are holding hands!" They glanced down at their intertwined fingers and blushed, but didn't pull away. "You guys love each other! Love love!" Grunkle Stan was soon in the doorway as well. "What'd I miss?" "Dipper and Wendy are holding hands!" "Yes!" He screamed. Everyone stared. "Did I say that out loud?" Mabel nodded, and Stan inched away awkwardly. Dipper and Wendy exchanged a glance. "I guess he does want us to be together," Wendy said, smiling. "Yeah, I guess he does."


	4. Chapter 4

Gideon sat on a bench on the sidewalk, a smile on his face. He had been thinking about Mabel, but had stopped himself. She was part of the Pines family. She was on their side. He sighed. He didn't like her anymore, or at least that's what he'd been telling himself. He glanced down the street and saw Dipper a few houses down. "Oh, great," he said to himself. He waited silently as he watched him walk past. "Hey Dipper," a voice called out. Not Mabel's, or anyone else Gideon recognized. "Wait up!" A girl with long red hair ran after him. Gideon stared. "Oh my..." He whispered, in awe of her beauty. He watched her walk to the end of the block, and then disappear around the corner. She will be mine, he promised himself.  
*Meanwhile at the Mystery Shack*  
Sues sat behind the counter wearing his Questiony the Question Mark suit. He knew the costume scared people, but that didn't mean he couldn't wear it when there was no one looking. "You know, dude, this is the life," he said to Waddles, who was sitting on the counter. He opened a bag of potato chips and started chewing loudly. Just then Dipper and Wendy walked in to the shack, deep in conversation. "Oh my gosh, I totally remember that!" Wendy was saying. Sues quickly ducked behind the counter, but not quite fast enough. "Hey Sues," Dipper said. "Hey dude," he replied, not moving. Dipper and Wendy kept talking. Just go into the other room, dude, Sues thought. The door was suddenly slammed open, and there stood Gideon. "Hand over the girl, Dipper!" He screamed. "Gideon, I already told you, Mabel does not like you." He shook his head. "Not Mabel." Dipper looked confused. "If you don't want Mabel then who are you talking about?" He grinned an evil grin and pointed. "Her." Dipper was shocked. "You want Wendy?" Gideon nodded, and Wendy shook her head. "Yeah, not happening." His face turned red, and he became furious. "Yeah, Gideon, your not gonna get her," Dipper remarked confidently. Wendy raised her hand to her mouth and smiled, unseen, at Dipper's defensiveness. Gideon glanced between them. "Oh, I see what's going on here. Don't worry Dipper, I'll make sure to steal her real quick." Dipper scowled. "You're not gonna steal her, Gideon." Sues suddenly stood up. "Dude, don't ruin Stan's OTP." "Shut your pie hole you naked pig!" Gideon screamed at the top if his lungs. Sues looked down at his costume, then at Waddles, and whimpered. Mabel emerged from the doorway, and when she saw Gideon she scowled. "Gideon. I thought I heard your voice." Before he got a chance to reply, Mabel ran back into the house. Sues picked up the pig and started to inch away. "Yeah, I think I'm just gonna... Yeah bye dude." Wendy, Dipper and Gideon were left in the room alone. "So, Wendy," Gideon started, "Who's it gonna be?" To be honest, Wendy was kind of nervous. I mean, she was obviously gonna choose Dipper. She liked him, and he liked her. But then again, she didn't want to give that kind if information out to Gideon, of all people. She saw Dipper's face, this longing look in his eyes, and she couldn't help but smile. "Dipper," she said. "I choose Dipper." His face lit up, but Gideon's did exactly the opposite. He clenched his fists. "How could you... I am Lil' Gideon!" He turned around and punched Dipper in the stomach. Hard. Dipper staggered backwards, and Wendy called out his name. Mabel then returned with a pack of gummy koalas in her hand. "Hey Gideon, remember these?" She tossed a handful into his hair, and he screamed. Gideon pointed at Dipper. "This is not over." He ran from the shack, and Wendy helped Dipper stand up. "You put up quite a fight, didn't you?" He smiled sheepishly, and went in for a hug. They stood there for a minute, and when they pulled away Wendy quickly kissed Dipper on the cheek. He felt the sudden drop of his stomach, remembering when she had first kissed him in the wax figure storage room. He had been overjoyed, and this was no different. Wendy smiled, and he smiled back. His hand found hers, and they walked back out the door, falling back into conversation.


	5. Chapter 5

"I wanna ask Wendy out, officially." Dipper was telling Mabel his plan, though he had no actual thoughts on how to pursue it. That's what he had come to Mabel for. "Hmm...very interesting." Mabel sat on her bed, Dipper on his. Waddles was chewing at a piece of Mabel's long stringy brown hair. "Well, she did kiss you, twice, so she obviously likes you. I say just go for it." Dipper sat up straight. "Yeah, she did, didn't she?" He hadn't really thought about that. She kissed him. That had to mean something. "You know what," Dipper said, "I'm gonna ask her right now." He ran down the stairs and through the door straight into the shack, and straight into Wendy. She staggered backwards, and then laughed. "Hey, Dipper," she said cheerfully. "Hey, Wendy," Dipper replied. "Didn't see you there." He moved over to the counter and leaned his elbow against it. "Obviously." Wendy laughed again. Just keep your cool, he said to himself. "So, uh, listen. There's something I wanted to ask you." Wendy locked her eyes with his. "What is it?" Dipper gulped. "Wendy, I really, really like you. Will you go out with me?" She was silent for a moment. "Dipper I really like you too." His eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "You do?" "Yeah I do. I thought you knew that. I mean, I kind of kissed you. Twice." Dipper smiled sheepishly. "I just didn't have any idea if you actually wanted to date me. I mean, considering there's a three year age difference between us." Wendy laced her fingers through Dipper's and smiled. "Age is just a number." Dipper returned the smile. "It's a definite yes," she said. He had never been more happy in his life. Wendy walked closer. "Did you like me from the start? Just curious." Dipper nodded. "Ever since I first got here." "Me too," Wendy said. "It just took a little while for me to figure it out." She leaned in and kissed him. Dipper put his free hand on her shoulder and kissed back. When they broke apart, Wendy let go of his hand, even though she didn't want to, and turned to leave, flashing Dipper a smile as she turned and waved. "See you tomorrow, Dipper." They were both extremely happy for what had just happened. Dipper ran back up the stairs, shouting Mabel's name. "Dipper what happened?" She asked eagerly. Dipper struggled to stay calm. "I asked her, and she said yes, and we kissed, like for real!" "Eeek!" Mabel screamed. "I'm so happy for you! What did I say, sometimes you gotta just go for it."


	6. Chapter 6

Dipper was overjoyed. He couldn't believe this was finally happening. Dipper ran up the stairs to recount to Mabel what had just happened: Wendy had walked into the Mystery Shack with a huge smile on her face. She walked up to Dipper and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Hey, Dipper," she had said. "Hey, Wendy" he replied back. Wendy absentmindedly twirled a strand of her long, red hair around her finger. "So I was wondering," she I started, " If you wanted to go on a real date?" Dipper's breath caught in his chest. A real date with Wendy? He couldn't think of anything better. He mentally tried to compose himself, then took a deep breath. "I'd love to," he said, trying to contain the excitement bubbling up inside him. They decided they would go out to dinner the next night, then Wendy hugged him and took her place behind the counter.  
"Wow," Mabel said when Dipper finished. "My little brother is going on a date with-" "Stop it," Dipper interrupted. The "Little Dipper" jokes had caught on again. Even though he knew why his twin told the jokes, he still didn't like them. Mabel held her hands up in defeat. "Sorry, sorry. What is it you needed me for?" Dipper rolled his eyes. Mabel was smarter than she looked, but sometimes she was just so clueless. "I'm kind of inexperienced with the whole dating thing, and you, well, you practically throw yourself at every guy you see." "Hey," she said. "At least I rejected Gideon, that creep." Dipper nodded in agreement. They talked for awhile; Dipper was already nervous, and Mabel's comments weren't really helping. "Calm down, Dip," she said finally. "She was the one that asked you. It's not like she's gonna dump you on the first date." Mabel was right. Dipper worried too much. He lied awake in his bed, thinking about all the things Wendy had said to him since he first arrived in Gravity Falls. Looking back on it now, it seemed so obvious that Wendy had liked him(even though Dipper knew it was probably because he had Mabel's "advice" to compare it to now). Everything's gonna be fine, he told himself. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep, which wasn't the best idea. I don't think "nightmares" was the right word, considering most of the scenarios he ended up in were completely insane and would never happen.  
When he awoke the next morning he was terrified. I'm overthinking this, he told himself. I just have to let what happens happen. And even if it did go poorly, he reassured himself with a reminder that it was Wendy who had first kissed him, Wendy who had asked him on a date. He had nothing to worry about. Yet.  
*that evening*  
"Oh my god . . . What was I thinking?!" Dipper was pacing back and forth in his room, and Wendy had just gotten to the shack. "What if I fall on my face? I'm gonna die of embarrassment! I should've made a list. Maybe with no clones a plan  
would've-" "Dipper!" Mabel screamed. She grabbed both his shoulders and shook him. "Get yourself together!" He gulped. "It's just one measly date," she went on. "Are you seriously gonna ruin what should be the best night of your life with all of your overthinking?" Dipper slowly shook his head. "All of your worries are in your head. Just take a deep breath," Dipper inhaled sharply, "And let go." Dipper smiled at his sister. "When did you become so wise?" "When I kissed a merman," she replied sarcastically. "Now go." She ushered him down the stairs and through the door.  
"Hey Dipper," Wendy said as he emerged from the shack, still a little nervous. "Hey Wendy," Dipper replied. Mabel's "wise words" were repeating over and over in his head. They arrived at the restaurant, got seated and ordered. Everything was going smoothly. "Okay, honest opinion," Wendy started, "Do you really think that "we" would work out?" Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not saying we couldn't," she added quickly, seeing the look on his face. "I just want to see where we're at right now." Dipper thought for a moment. "Remember what you told me the other night? Age is just a number? I believe that. I think if we actually tried "we" could definitely be a thing." Wendy's lips slowly curved up into a smile. "Dipper, you're so sweet." She held his hand across the table. Dipper smiled back. They got their food and began to eat. In the middle of a bite she suddenly froze. Dipper raised and eyebrow and turned in the direction she was looking. Robbie sat alone in a booth behind them. "Oh my god," Wendy said, attempting to cover her face with her arms. "What is he doing here?" Dipper suddenly got mad. Robbie had the nerve to show his face when he and Wendy were clearly on a date? Oh, no, he thought. He wasn't gonna let himself get mad. The date wasn't ruined yet. He didn't want to blow it. "Just ignore him," Dipper heard himself say. "Maybe he'll leave." Wendy slowly put her arms back down. She picked up he fork and started moving her food around her plate. Dipper started eating again, but he wasn't hungry anymore. He'd wanted this to be the best night of his life, but then Robbie had to show up. He turned around to see what he was doing, but he was just sitting there, staring at nothing. Just as Dipper was about to turn back around he saw Robbie start to get up. He walked to the nearest table,(which happened to have people seated around it) grabbed the table cloth and yanked it, causing everything on the table to go flying. He proceeded to do that same thing to two more tables. The first thing that came to Dipper's mind is that he was still asleep inside one of his crazy dreams, but when he turned to look at Wendy and saw the look of pure shock on her face, he realize it was real. He quickly grabbed her hand and followed the trail of people out the door.  
"I'm sorry," Wendy said. They were walking back to the Mystery Shack, and Dipper had just realized that they hadn't payed for their dinner. Oops. "You don't have to apologize," Dipper responded. "It's not your fault." "It's feels like it is." They walked in silence for a few minutes. "You know, I really wanted this to go well," Wendy finally said. "I know." "I just . . ." She trailed off, as if trying to collect her thoughts into words was the hardest thing. Dipper knew what she was trying to get out. She was scared that she messed up and that he would no longer be interested. Dipper was feeling the exact same thing. He was scared that he'd get abandoned. They walked the rest of the way in silence. When the approached, Dipper opened the front door, but didn't go in. Wendy looked up, and Dipper saw a sad longing in her tear-brimming eyes. _She must really like me a lot_, Dipper thought to himself. He started through the door, then froze. _She must really like me a lot._ "Wendy." The tears on her cheeks appeared black in the moonlight. Dipper poured out his thoughts, from being scared to liking her more than anything. When he finished, Wendy pulled him to her in an embrace. Dipper could hear her crying softly on his shoulder. "How do you always know exactly what to say?" She asked. Dipper didn't answer. He didn't want to ruin the moment. After Wendy dried her eyes they climbed the ladder to Wendy's spot on the roof and sat, hand in hand, until the sun began to dawn on the mountains.


End file.
